7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A young boy in Hitler's army finds out his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.
Starring: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, Taika Waititi, Sam RockwellDark humor | 100% |
War | 21% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Can the scourge of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party be a source for comedy? That may be a salient question occurring to some viewers as they watch the odd but engaging Jojo Rabbit, and while patently different in both style and content, a film like The Producers might provide a resounding answer of “yes!” to that query in any case. Making fun of Nazis in fact goes back at least to efforts like The Great Dictator and, later, even (to go from the sublime to the patently ridiculous) Hogan's Heroes, but Jojo Rabbit offers a tone that is decidedly different from any of these properties, with an intentionally provocative take on the era which posits a young German boy named Johannes Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) who is seeing the epochal events play out from his own decidedly skewed perspective. That skewed perspective is in evidence from the get go in this often slightly surreal film, where it turns out that Johannes, who goes by Jojo and is ultimately given the disparaging nickname Jojo Rabbit by some Hitler Youth, has a most unusual imaginary friend — one Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi, who also adapted the screenplay, winning an Academy Award in the process, and directed).
Jojo Rabbit is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The IMdb lists a variety of Arri cameras and a 2K DI, but this is another recent Fox release like Ford v Ferrari where to my eyes detail levels often were precise enough that I wouldn't have been surprised if this had been a 4K DI. There's an appealing sharpness throughout this presentation that offers a really rich exploration of the film's both busy but at times kind of intentionally dowdy production design. What really stuck out to me, though, is the film's really interesting and at times very subtle grading choices. A lot of the film's interior work is kind of peach toned, with buttery yellows and just a slight hint of pink, but take a look at some of what are supposed to be traditional "Nazi red" elements, like armbands and flags in the accompanying screenshots, and perhaps you can make out how they're just slightly skewed to what I'd call crimson or wine or maybe even plum tones. A couple of the scenes in the "secret annex" offer somewhat lackluster shadow detail, a situation perhaps exacerbated by a prevalence of browns and other dark tones.
Jojo Rabbit features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that derives quite a bit of energy from its sometimes cheeky use of anachronistic music. Several sequences play out of doors, and some of those feature elements like explosions, and there are very well done immersive effects in those moments. Even some interior moments, like a really weird scene inside a poolhouse where Nazi Youth are being trained for — well, I'm not exactly sure what, there are some appealing surround effects and a really nice recreation of the "echo-y" ambience of the building. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, and there are no problems of any kind to note.
- Teaser Trailer (1080p; 00:59)
- Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:19)
Jojo Rabbit is one of those sui generis offerings that is going to rise and fall for the individual viewer's tolerance for (some might argue surrender to) the film's unabashedly bizarre tonal shifts, not to mention the almost Looney Tunes-esque presentational aspects. I found some of this cartoonish element to wear a little thin after a while, but Jojo Rabbit's undeniable audacity really captivated me, and the film ended up providing a rather hefty emotional wallop. Technical merits are first rate, and Jojo Rabbit comes Recommended.
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